Showcasing a celebration of two decades of academic excellence, Sri Lanka’s premier higher education institute SLIIT, held its 20th annual convocation ceremony at the Malabe Campus recently. Conducted over two days on 21st and 22nd February, the institute conferred Bachelor’s and Master’s Degre s in Information Technology, Engineering, Quantity Surveying and Business Management to over 1100 students and a doctoral degree during the colourful ceremony. Gracing the first days’ proceedings as Chief Guests were Prof. Deborah Terry, Vice Chancellor, Curtin University, Australia, Dr. Harsha Subasinghe, Chief Executive Officer, Codegen, International, Mr. Jonathan Alles, Managing Director, Hatton National Bank and Mr. Priyantha Mayadunne, Secretary, Ministry of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education.

Addressing graduands, Prof. Deborah Terry said, “This ceremony marks a significant milestone in your life and you should be proud of your achievements. As a Vice- Chancellor my goal is for our graduates to leave the university with knowledge, skills and attitude to make a positive difference through their chosen profession, not just locally but as global citizens.” “As you embark on the next stage of your journey do what you enjoy. Remember paths are rarely smooth, your university studies have given you a cache of knowledge, experiences will add to it exponentially, deepening with wisdom that cannot be taught. You are all future leaders, rise to the occasion and never underestimate your capacity, be open to opportunities, rise to the challenge of leadership. 

Before me I see graduates poised to help shape the future not just for yourself but for the others,” she added. Advising the new graduand from a corporate perspective, Mr. Jonathan Alles said, “Use this graduation as the beginning. As you strive to move forward with your next goals, do not compromise, or be satisfied with mediocrity, instead raise the bar, excellence should not be a goal, make it a habit. Grow to become leaders this country requires. Be the change that you desire, be the leader that you wish you saw while you were growing up and be the human being that you like to see in others.” Mr. Reshan Dewapura, CEO - Global Systems Solutions Inter national, Prof. Roger Eccleston, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University presented degrees to the graduands on the second day.

Other notable dignitaries who attended the ceremony as guests of honour were Prof. Jeremy Kilburn, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Science & Engineering, Curtin University, Prof. Seth Kunin, Curtin’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, International , Mr. Nigel De Silva, Deputy Director Transnational Education and partnerships and Prof. Peter Byres, Pro Vice Chancellor, Education, Liverpool John Moores University. Commenting on SLIIT’s 20th Convocation, Prof. Lalith Gamage, CEO, SLIIT said, “Today is an important milestone for SLIIT as we celebrate our 20th Convocation.

As we are poised to make giant strides towards achieving excellence in diverse areas, we have endeavoured to bring you on a journey of experiences which have helped you to grow and transform. I congratulate all our graduand- we celebrate your achievements, and have great confidence in your future success and though the road ahead is long the journey promises to be exciting.” Honouring students for their outstanding academic activities, several Best Performance Awards, Gold Medals and Merit awards were sponsored by premier organizations including Dialog Axiata, IFS, Virtusa, Walkers CML, Zone 24 x7, Metropolitan, CIMA, MAGA, Ambeon Holdings PLC, BoC, FITIS, EPIC Lanka, LSEG Technology, WSO2, Orange IT, 99X Technologies, E-Wis and CSSL.